Today is the day of legends and stories, a virtual trip to France! While I was enjoying dorblu cheese, the Wind of Wanderings whispered to me how this gourmet joy came to be.

Blue cheese appeared when people already had extensive experience in making cheese from the milk of livestock. 7 thousand years ago it was absolutely clean, without a single speck of mold. Even then, people understood that foods covered with a fungal coating should not be eaten. But what about moldy cheese, as my niece calls it?! Thank you, opportunity, coincidence - as often happens in our lives.

There is a legend that, perhaps, someone knows, and someone will hear for the first time. There is a place in France (and the action, they say, took place there) called Roquefort, also known as Roquefort. The time of action is approximately 2000 years ago. The terrain here is mountainous with an abundance of caves and open green lawns. Shepherds brought small herds of goats and sheep here to graze. One such young French shepherd, tired of listening to the chirping of birds and the monotonous vigil, left his “wards” on the lawn, and he decided to have a snack with the food familiar at that time - water, bread and cheese. He was just about to start eating when his attention was attracted by a beauty who, for unknown reasons, was passing by. What made the shepherd forget about dinner and the flock: the beauty of the charming woman, the ardor of love that gripped him, or all together is no longer known. However, the good fellow ran away after the girl, leaving the food in the limestone cave.

The legend says that he returned back to this place only a month later. In the cave he found the cheese and bread he had left behind, but covered with a bluish moldy coating. Apparently, the hunger was too strong to allow them to throw away even a spoiled product. The cheese with bluish streaks of mold was eaten, but the shepherd was very pleased with its taste, salty and spicy.

The villagers, having learned from the lips of a shepherd about cheese with amazing taste, they began to leave cooked cheeses and bread in the caves, of which there were many in this area. This is how blue cheese Roquefort appeared, named after this place Roquefort, fragrant, salty, with nutty taste– one of the most famous cheeses in the world.

Already very close to us, it was opened blue mold- Penicillium roqueforti, one of the very few that can be eaten in some foods.

There is another version of the same legend about the appearance of blue cheese. The shepherd boy was just a boy, tending a flock of goats and sheep here. Intending to eat in a nearby cave, he laid out cheese and bread on a stone. But something happened in the herd, and he was forced to run to check order. He never returned to the cave that day. Later long time upon his return, as in the first version of the legend, he discovered cheese covered with blue mold. The shepherd boy shared the cheese with the monks from the monastery, and they decided to make the product they liked in the same way as the boy said.

One way or another, the famous one appeared french cheese with mold, unknown. However, mention of it is found in the Roman historian Pliny, who lived in 79 AD. And in the 15th century, the residents of Roquefort received from the then monarch Charles VI the right to the monopoly production of blue cheeses under the Roquefort brand name.

Roquefort is not the only cheese with noble mold, produced in France, but real cheese This product can only be tasted here.

Italians have their own cheese and mold - Italian blue cheese Gorgonzola. The British are proud not only of their cheese, but also of their Stilton mold cheese. Well, the legends are over, and I will certainly continue my cheese travels, but for now I’m enjoying dor blue cheese and white wine.

People began making cheese more than ten thousand years ago. This happened almost simultaneously with the domestication of dairy animals. And the first written mention of cheese dates back to the middle of the sixth millennium BC.

Legends and tales

So far, scientists cannot say in which country or even on which continent cheese was first made. Most likely, like other useful inventions like making fire or farming, it appeared in several regions at the same time. This confirms the diversity of species and national varieties.

One of the most ancient legends says that they were the first to invent cheese. nomadic Arab tribes. Back then, the stomachs of slaughtered animals were used to store milk. Apparently, the stomachs were not thoroughly cleaned and retained a number of digestive enzymes on the walls. As a result, under their influence the first rennet cheese appeared.

According to another legend, cheese was invented in Ancient Greece and was called the food of the gods. The secret of production was owned by a mythical hero and son of Apollo named Aristaeus. And one of the myths calls the goddess Artemis the creator of cheese.

How the cheese business developed

According to historians, cheese was known to the ancient Slavs long before the beginning of our era. The secret of manufacturing came with the Greco-Roman expansion. Nevertheless, it was not appreciated by our ancestors, although it was considered one of the products that were necessarily offered to the altars of the gods.

Cheese owes its popularity largely to the Crusades. Then militant monks brought the first recipes to medieval Europe. The world owes such a variety of varieties today to monasteries. Because it is the monasteries for a long time held a monopoly on cheese production and carefully developed new types and methods of production.

The cheese industry returned to Russia with the arrival of Peter the Great. Under him, the first cheese factories were opened using Dutch technologies. And when former naval officer N.V. got down to business. Vereshchegin, oh Russian cheese they started talking even in Europe.

Cheese making today

Currently, cheese making is developed all over the world, and almost every country can boast of its own traditions. But two countries are competing for the title of main connoisseurs: France and Greece.

In the first one they love it so much that they even came up with varieties with mold and worms. But the second has been holding the lead in terms of the amount of cheese eaten per capita for many years. And this quantity is simply amazing, since it amounts to more than thirty kilograms per person.

The most interesting thing is that the volume of cheese production and consumption is increasing every year. Experts believe that the reason is the fashion for healthy eating, as well as the popularization of pizza.

Do you know who invented the salad and?

Many of us know that blue cheese is considered a delicacy. What is so unusual about this cheese? It turns out that real blue cheese is produced only in France.

Other countries also do something similar, but the most best cheeses- specifically made in France.

Blue cheese and its legend

Interestingly, there is a beautiful, romantic legend about blue cheese. One day, a young man, a shepherd, on the slope of Mount Combalou (not far from the village of Roquefort) sat down to have a snack of cheese and bread. At this time, a beauty passed by. The young man wanted to meet the girl and rushed after her, but there was no trace of her.

Returning to the cave a few days later, he saw the cheese left behind, covered with mold. The young man tried it and was pleasantly surprised: the cheese became completely new taste. So, according to legend, appeared Roquefort cheese, one of perhaps the most famous blue cheeses.

Where is blue cheese made?

It is clear that these are just legends. But in fact, blue cheeses have rich history. Roquefort cheese is produced in caves in the Rouergue region of France. If you find cheese from another manufacturer on store shelves, then you are looking at something other than an ordinary fake.

The fact is that Roquefort cheese is produced in relatively small batches, because... There is not so much space in caves, and its cost is several times higher than its analogues. It is not at all necessary that such cheeses will be less tasty than real Roquefort.

Is mold in cheese harmful?

Many people unknowingly claim that mold used in production is harmful to health. This is wrong. Penicillium roqueforti mold is completely harmless the human body, it just sounds similar to penicillin. She represents one of the most the most important factors, giving the cheese an original, incomparable taste.

Types of blue cheeses

In addition to Roquefort, there are also varieties of blue cheese such as Stilton, Gorgonzola and others.

Blue cheese - Gorgonzola

Gorgonzola, like Roquefort, is one of the most famous varieties blue cheese. Italy (more precisely, the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy) is considered its homeland. These two cheeses are very different in taste, because... Italians use sheep's milk to make cheese.

In addition, manufacturers also use different kinds mold. If in Roquefort it is Penicillium roqueforti, then in Gorgonzola it is Penicillium glaucum and two types of bacteria Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. While the cheese is ripening, metal rods are inserted into the mass to ensure good ventilation. The ripening time for Gorgonzola is about four months. It is known that the Gorgonzola variety is more than 200 years older than Roquefort.

Gorgonzola has a copy called Bavaria blue.

Blue cheese - Stilton

Stilton cheese comes from England, from the counties of Lesteshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Cheese of this variety is produced only from pasteurized cow's milk. It is aged for at least 9 weeks.

There are 2 types of English stilton - blue (the most popular) and less known - white stilton. Unlike other cheeses, in the total mass of cheese there are many passages made by mold.

In order to receive the proud name of Stilton, the cheese must meet a whole range of requirements. Real Stilton cheese must have specific blue veins running from the center.

Stilton cheese is considered the youngest(compared to the two previous varieties we describe) it appeared relatively recently - in the 18th century.

Blue cheese - Danablu

There is also a younger cheese - danabla, which appeared already in the twentieth century. It replaced the expensive Roquefort.

Because Blue cheese has a rather sharp taste and is usually served with tannic wines. Some gourmets and cheese connoisseurs tend to argue that blue cheese is incompatible with wine, with the exception of some types of white wines.

What do you eat blue cheese with?

Before serving, blue cheese is warmed to room temperature. It goes especially well with fruits, vegetables, crispbreads, crackers, etc. The British eat this cheese with vegetables and fresh herbs, and also add it to soups; The Danes use it with bread, the Italians add it to sauce and pizza.

Blue cheese is an excellent ingredient for salads, with the exception of Roquefort cheese. This elite variety Cheese is best eaten as a separate dish.

Is blue cheese healthy? Is there any benefit to it?

• Yes, if you don't eat it very often and in small portions . It contains phosphorus and calcium, as well as other vitamins, as well as protein and necessary for a person amino acids.
• Many nutritionists claim that blue cheese also contains beneficial bacteria , which improve intestinal function.
• Turkish scientists made a discovery; it turns out that noble mold contains special substances that can protect the skin from harmful effects sun rays. Eating blue cheese causes substances to accumulate in the subcutaneous layer, resulting in the body producing more melanin, which significantly reduces the risk of sunburn.

An unusual product, blue cheese, was discovered completely by accident.

Its homeland is the town of Roquefort in France. It is believed that this product was first made by a shepherd.

Inadvertently, he left a piece of cheese in the cave. Returning a few weeks later, he found his cheese there, which was covered with blue mold. The famous Roquefort in its modern form became widespread after 1070.

However, blue cheese is mentioned by the ancient figure Pliny the Elder.

Exclusive varieties of the product are obtained using special technology. In ancient times, cheese makers left bread in caves for 6 months so that it would become moldy.

Nowadays mold comes from laboratory conditions. Later it is sprayed over pieces of cheese. For better spread of fungi, holes are made in the cheese. After the mold has worked well on the product, it acquires a unique taste. Not only the French, but also other nations have their own blue cheese. For example, Italians do mold cheese gorgonzola.

My friend’s mother half a century ago went from the outback to enroll at Rostov University, at a very young age. I don’t remember why she stopped on the way in Taganrog, as was often the case back then with almost no money, but with a ticket - her relatives met her in Rostov.

After walking around dusty Taganrog all day, in the evening she couldn’t stand it on the local bus and decided to eat the last cheese sandwich she had put aside at home. To her chagrin, the cheese turned out to be slightly moldy - it was summer.

The girl looked at this coveted sandwich with doubt for a long time, and finally began to carefully clean off the mold. Standing nearby was a prominent, strong Caucasian man in his fifties.

He gallantly told the girl that although moldy cheeses are among the most expensive in the world, this particular one should not be eaten.

And he’s just going to a special store where the cheese is fresh and special, and that he wants to give her a piece of this wonderful cheese. Having turned a deaf ear to his tempting offer, the girl cheerfully remarked that it takes how many centuries to grow such a purebred mold in order for something tasty to come out of it.

The Caucasian man burst out laughing and said that there was mold in expensive cheeses the most ordinary one, it’s all about the cheese and technology. It was here that the first alarm bell rang in her head to this outright lie. But the man was aged and looked very positive.

And then, in just a couple of stops, a hypnosis session probably took place - she saw his medal-like appearance, his stately significant figure, hot eyes, tragic folds at his lips, and was simply enchanted by his speech.

They started talking and then walked for a long time along the evening streets around the promised specialty store, which she had almost forgotten about. But looking into her shining eyes, the temperamental Caucasian suddenly made a mistake - he was simply carried away.

He said that he works as a secret aircraft designer, but there is no sense in this secrecy, because anyway, his work has not been put into series all his life, and therefore is unknown. Hearing this, the girl woke up, looked at her watch and asked about the promised cheese - her train was leaving soon.

The man ducked into a store that looked more like a warehouse and came back beaming with a small circle of cheese that looked really fresh. Having taken the cheese, the girl shyly asked if he was married.

“No, no married! “- the man answered immediately, confused. It was a failure - the girl’s question was a control shot. The stranger looked well-groomed, neatly dressed and generally a winner of women's hearts.

Having said goodbye hastily, she was already on the train with cheese in her teeth, and began to repeat the fable she had prepared for entering the university, “The cheese fell out, and such was the trick with it...”.

Here she laughed - the quickly abandoned thieves from the Caucasus really looked like a ruffled, puzzled raven when they parted. Recently, I accidentally saw a TV show and, following fresh tracks, rummaged through Google.

As journalists carefully put it, the girl then met “a man very similar to” Roberto Bartini. This man, having started talking, could tell her a lot more - that he was, for example, an Italian baron who gave his entire fortune in the amount of ten million dollars to help the starving people of the Soviet republic.

Oddly enough, this was absolutely true. And he was modest about his aircraft developments - out of sixty of his models, one still went into series. World speed records were set on it, and six hundred bombers of this series were built under the name EP-2, which bombed Berlin from the beginning of the war until its end.

This bomber was so secret and looked so unusual that during emergency landings it was shot down from time to time by ours. The designer himself also looked unusual and impressive; people often fell in love with him.

Like his planes, Bartini was also shot down by ours - before the war he was slapped with a Stalinist ten, which he served from bell to bell. Much of what this man could boast about was completely pointless to tell the girl at that time - another top secret designer Sergei Korolev considered him his teacher, and once said: “Without Bartini there would be no satellite.”

After his imprisonment, Bartini was sent specifically to Taganrog, where he actually traveled for quite a long time on public transport. He never sat on the bus, despite his age.

What finally finished me off was a search on the topic of expensive Italian cheeses with mold. This mold, as it turned out, is the most common one. It really comes straight out of thin air, like all the prison rot that has been brought down on this man - the whole point, it turns out, is in the cheese itself...